The Unforgivable Sin

Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin. Yes, that's what He said. It's recorded in Matthew chapter 12 and Mark chapter 3. But I think unpacking what Jesus said requires more than a surface reading of those verses. So, what's the big picture He was talking about? My conclusion might surprise you.

First, let's see what His warning doesn't mean. Jesus isn't saying that Believers can't question anything that claims to be from God. On the contrary, it's good to check whether things line up with truth as revealed in the Bible. So, study your Bible. And it's okay to ask God questions. Just make sure you're asking from a yielded, tender heart.

That leads me back to what Jesus was really getting to when He warned about the unforgivable sin. You may disagree with my reasoning, but at least give it your consideration. I'll start by looking at what was going on when He gave that warning.

As He did many times, Jesus was casting out demons and healing people. The crowds were amazed at the goodness and power of God. They were saying that Jesus might be the Son of David, that is, the Messiah.

Some Scribes and Pharisees were watching. Their minds were made up, rejecting even the possibility that Jesus could be the Messiah. In spite of what was happening right in front of them, they refused to acknowledge the obvious...that Jesus really was the long-promised Son of David, the Messiah.

To deny the obvious, they were accusing Jesus Himself of being demon possessed, of being in cahoots with evil and of secretly partnering with Satan. Their already hard hearts were becoming even more hardened against the obvious presence and work of the Holy Spirit through Jesus.

It was then that Jesus warned these Scribes and Pharisees about the unforgivable sin.

Notice, Jesus clearly directed this warning to the hard-hearted Scribes and Pharisees. He did not direct this warning to anyone whose heart was open to God. I suggest you read all of this for yourself in Mark 3:28 through 30 and Matthew 12:22 through 45.

Here's how I understand these passages.

Drawing people to Jesus is one of the roles of the Holy Spirit. John 15:26 and 16:8. But they have to be open to His wooing.  

Jesus wanted them all to be saved. He was equating their rejection of the Holy Spirit to a refusal to repent and come to faith. He was warning hardened scoffers against continuing to reject the wooing of the Holy Spirit.

At some point, unsaved individuals can become so hardened that they are virtually immune to the Holy Spirit's efforts to draw them. The result? They are in danger of losing even the potential to repent and come to faith, both of which are essential to being born again.

Here's the what and why behind that day's events. When Jesus came to earth as a human being, He temporarily set aside His God authority. Philippians 2:5 through 8. When He was healing or performing miracles, He was doing so as a man, not as God.

So, as a man...albeit a sinless man...He did those things through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. To say it another way, the Holy Spirit was doing those things through Jesus. Isaiah 42:1, Matthew 12:18.

God the Father was literally saturating the atmosphere around Jesus with the Holy Spirit (John 3:34). In spite of that, the willful blindness of their hearts alienated them from the life of God (Ephesians 4:18). The Scribes and Pharisees rejected being drawn to Jesus when they attributed the clearly obvious work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. Their resistance to God was on full display.

Because of their continued blasphemy, they were becoming ever more numb and immune to the drawing of the Holy Spirit. That made it even harder for them to repent and come to faith. And that brings me to my main point.  

Not being born again is the decisive sin. 

How does that fit with what Jesus said about blaspheming the Holy Spirit? Let me explain.

Everyone has three parts: a physical body, a soul, and a spirit. Two of the three are eternal.

• Your physical body is not eternal. It's a temporary abode, what your soul and spirit wear during your time on earth. It is sometimes called  your "earth suit". 

• Your soul is your mind, will, and emotions. Your soul is eternal. When your body dies, your soul goes with your spirit to either heaven or hell. There's no third option.

• Your spirit is also eternal. In its natural "as born" condition, it is alienated from the life of God due to what is often called "original sin" (Ephesians 4:18). Your spirit is the part of you that must be reborn, that is, "born again", free from original sin. That is the only way for your spirit to be connected to the life of God. That is the only way that your spirit and soul can go to heaven when your physical body stops working.
  

Only people with born again spirits go to heaven, by the way. That basic truth is revealed in Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in John chapter 3. In verse 3, Jesus said "unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." He doubled down in verse 7: "Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again."

There's just no getting over those statements. It's clear that no one can make it to heaven without having a reborn spirit, that is, a born again spirit.

The need to be born again applies to everyone, by the way, not just Scribes and Pharisees.

Stay with me. ALL sin was laid upon Jesus, not just ALMOST all sin. But the payment Jesus made for everyone's sin comes with this caveat: Only those who take the steps to being truly born again reap the reward of His payment for their sin.

If anyone...even hard-hearted blasphemers...would yield to the Holy Spirit before their bodies die, repent and come to faith, Jesus' sacrifice would be enough to bring their "alienated from God" spirits to newness of life...to being born again...in spite of their previous blasphemy or their previous whatever.

My conclusion? NOT being born again is not only the decisive sin, it is also the unforgivable sin. They're two sides of the same coin. Jesus was making a hand-in-glove connection between resisting the Holy Spirit and not being born again. Resisting the Holy Spirit is the downward path to not being born again. That's the heart of Jesus' warning.

The Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is the One who joins a person to Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity. He joins you to all that being in the Body of Christ means (1 Corinthians 12:13).

If you yield to the Holy Spirit by coming to repentance and faith, everything is covered. At that moment, your corrupted, "alienated from the life of God" spirit is reborn perfectly clean and fresh. At that moment, all of your sins are forgiven, you have been made right with God and your newly reborn spirit has been joined to Jesus. (1 Corinthians 6:17). That's what the Bible calls being born again.

The Lord still has a lot of renewal to do in your soul, that is, your mind, will, and emotions, but once your spirit is reborn, if your body died right now, it would take your soul to go be with Jesus.

If you don't yield to the Holy Spirit by coming to repentance and faith, nothing is covered, your sins aren't forgiven, your corrupted spirit is still corrupted and you are still "alienated from the life of God" (Ephesians 1:17). You are not joined to Jesus, you are not born again, and you are not going to heaven.

So, to summarize:

Jesus' warning in Matthew chapter 12 and Mark chapter 3 is that hard-hearted blasphemers are in danger of becoming virtually immune to the wooing of the Holy Spirit. That numbing process makes it harder and harder for them to repent, come to faith, and have reborn, born again spirits. The numbing process tries to work on everyone, by the way, not just Scribes and Pharisees.

However, and it's a big however, until the final breath it's still not hopeless, it's still not too late. That's because God says He can soften the hardened heart. Ezekiel 26:36. But the individual has to choose to let Him because God won't override a person's free will.

So, what are the steps to being born again? This simple prayer covers them. This is not a formula and the exact words aren't important; it's the attitude of your heart that makes them work. God knows what's in your heart.

Dear Lord Jesus,

I need You. I open my heart to You. Thank You for dying on the cross in my place. I'm asking you to forgive my many sins. I know I can't earn what you've done for me. I give my life to You. Make me clean from the inside out. Change whatever You want. Reign and rule in me and through me.

In Jesus' name, Amen.